Three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Levante | La Liga MD25 | OneFootball

Barcelona return home after a spell of two straight games away from the Spotify Camp Nou, both of which ended in defeats for the Catalans.

The last game they played at home was against Mallorca, which ended in a 3-0 win, but the team then travelled to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and lost 4-0 before losing 2-1 away to Girona.

Needless to say, the Blaugrana will be eager to turn the tide around and return to winning ways against Levante tomorrow evening. Back in front of their home crowd, moreover, the conditions will be more favourable.

A massive March awaits Barcelona, right from the hopeful Copa del Rey comeback in the first week to the UEFA Champions League knockouts that will also start in the same month. Getting back in rhythm, thus, is essential.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Levante.

Much-needed reset

Barcelona’s defeats to Atletico Madrid and Girona can indeed not be ignored, and there are a number of overlapping factors responsible for the same.

While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong on both nights, one of the undoubted contributors is the hectic schedule and the domino effect that clicks in after a defeat,

Are Flick’s men ready for the challenge? (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

With not too much time between games, it is easy for teams to get into a negative spiral relatively easily in today’s day and age, and Barcelona, too did not look up to the challenge remotely when they took on Girona just days after the Atletico Madrid game.

On that front, the current week has brought some much-needed rest for the Catalans – one that the management and dressing room would have used to mentally reset and prepare to get back on track.

With over five days in between their last game and tomorrow’s match, the team enjoyed two days off and three further days without a game, and the rest could well do them a world of good.

After all, Hansi Flick’s system is physically very demanding, and a complete physical and mental reset may well be enough for them to rediscover their mojo tomorrow night.

Back to the chase

Having slipped to two La Liga defeats in the past month, Barcelona have dropped six points in the title race at a crucial point and the result against Girona was devastating for the standings.

Having dropped all three points against their neighbours, Flick’s men handed the lead in La Liga back to their arch-rivals and now trail by two points.

The title is still in their control indeed, for they will win the competition if they win all their remaining games. The fact of the matter, however, is that they must now return to chasing Real Madrid.

Starting with tomorrow’s game against Levante, Barcelona must thus play once again, treading a cautious path, for there is not much room for error. 

With the season nearing the business end, it is critical that they stay close to Real Madrid to capitalise on any slip-up from their end, and thus cannot afford to lose any points of their own.

The return of the controller

The big news ahead of Barcelona’s game against Levante, needless to say, is the return of Pedri Gonzalez to the squad as he has overcome the muscle issue he was nursing over the past month.

Pedri’s return will serve as a massive boon for Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

It is clear that Pedri will not start against Levante and that the team will not be able to completely capitalise on his return tomorrow night, but the very fact that he is back in the squad comes as a massive sigh of relief for the manager.

After all, there is simply no replacing what he brings to the field for Barcelona – the control, the poise, the pressure resistance, and the control of the game – something the team struggled for in his absence.

A lot has been said about Barcelona’s defensive deficiencies over the past two games, but a deeper dive into the game brings to light that the team simply lacked control in midfield in both games – leading to precarious defensive transitions.

As Hansi Flick clarified and identified in his pre-game press conference, Barcelona lost too many balls in the final third of their half in both games and were highly susceptible to the opposition press.

The fragility in midfield, needless to say, opened the door for ruthless transitions and goal-threatening counter-attacks.

With Pedri back, Flick can hope for his team to regain the lost control in midfield and retain the ball better. That, at the foundational level, may solve Barcelona’s fragility.

The Canary Islander will start on the bench tomorrow, but the manager has confirmed that he will likely come off the bench at some stage in the game. Watching the maestro return to the field, needless to say, will be one of the highlights.